PurchaseWithPurpose

Most of these costs you aren't directly exposed to, as you often buy Windows 11 pre-installed on a laptop/PC

More users are being pushed to AI-first search, with sites that create content seeing a rapid decline in traffic.

No better time to move away from Google.

They have access to people's private emails and documents, and more & more of your data is being used to train their AI models. These situations will increasingly happen.

The best thing you can do is move to a provider that keeps your information private.

A big part of it is that the more people listen to their generated content, the less they have to pay actual artists.

And it's why they have one of the lowest average royalties per stream.

Music streaming companies with active anti-AI policies are: Qobuz, Tidal and Deezer

Bandcamp is always worth mentioning if you want to buy music directly

Linux distros have never been this easy to use and it is increasingly the standard for apps/games to support them.

If you haven't already, it's worth giving it a shot as Windows 11 gets filled with apps and Copilot pushed on you at every moment.

This isn't a hyperbole.

Might not be the extreme of a fascist regime, but if the current course remains, most will be beholden to a wealthy few.

An important step in moving away from Mastercard & Visa. And the best part is that WERO comes with no transaction fees

For self-preferencing its own services and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternatives.

This is a start. These fines need to escalate for continued inaction.

Most streaming services have a messy shareholding, but Qobuz tends to be the least controversial and pays artists the best - do recommend!

The best thing you can do, though, is still buy the music directly from sites like Bandcamp and 7Digital

Source of data: https://royaltyexchange.com/blog/how-much-do-streaming-platforms-pay-per-stream Credit for chart: https://www.reddit.com/user/OleksandrAkm/

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS Includes: Text Editor, Spreadsheet and Presentations

Permanent licenses are also available

Excellent option for those looking for an EU-based alternative.

Also has a free version as: https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

Particularly egregious in the United States, where they have such a strong monopoly.

And also why supporting independent shops directly is SO important.

AI companies no longer deny training on copyrighted material and instead argue that they are allowed to scrape artists’ work under fair use.

A precedent needs to be set.

Part of their latest attempts to rein in tech behemoths' deep control over the digital economy and foster competition.

They are accusing the tech giant of 'one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history'

And claims Google itself flagged internally that it could face "$10Bs-$100Bs in potential fines"

Even for people against IP laws, it is worrying that, through lobbying, these companies get to operate under a different set of rules.

A long watch, but a very insightful perspective on the current monopolistic landscape we find ourselves in.

The topics I found most interesting were:

• Why Google made their search worse
• We were here before... why there is still hope

They join a growing list of browsers doing the same. These include: Vivaldi, DuckDuckGo and Brave (own ad blocker)

Firms which fail to comply could pay the higher of £18m or 10% of global turnover.

We would never allow other services to enable rampant exploitation - they should not get a pass either.

This comes a month after YouTube Premium's price hike and the increase in adverts for free users.

You might want to switch browsers or use uBlock Origin.

He cited the fact that Microsoft made $101 billion in profits, got a $12.5 billion tax break from Trump & paid its CEO $96 million.

Corporate tax breaks don't create jobs. Real change needs to happen to balance this wealth inequality.

$200B in revenue last year, but we still accept the lie that they don't have the resources to moderate their content

Instead, Bavaria will pursue a “sovereign basic workspace” based on open-source components

This will hopefully encourage other administrations to do the same.

A reminder of why we need to vote with our wallets, as these companies have rigged the system in their favour.